There are many denominations that preach against alcohol. It can be a life-threatening addiction. It killed off my mother, my father and my husband. Nevertheless it is not the product but the usage. Nothing is dangerous unless used in excess.
Everything God made is good. Too many video games, too much TV, too much alcohol, too much time on your cell phone, excessive listening to music, excessive anything – is flat wrong because life is about balance.
But now to answer your question. Jesus was a guest at a wedding and when the wine ran out he asked his mother to see that the servants filled great vats with water which He then turned to wine.
John 2:5- 10 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
6 Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each.
7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.”
So they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it to him.
9 When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom,
10 and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.”
No, we don’t have proof here at Jesus actually drank any of this wine himself, but if it was wrong would he have provided it for others? In all things we have free will.
We are not under law but grace. When we live foolishly the Law comes back to remind us that we didn’t use good judgment. There are people sitting in jail today because they used the grace of God foolishly and drank too much. And their “will” was placed at the mercy of the police. Decisions have consequences. If you fail to control yourself you can be sure the “state” will come in and control you until you learn your lesson. I worked with prisoners for many years, and that is the lesson they had to learn.
Saying this passage is about spiritual things, or only for the end of time places meanings on it which are not in the original. Yes, it is possible to see spiritual application in this passage, but that is true of every other Bible passage as well. It is possible to spiritualize something so much that you lose the plain meaning of it. That makes you the judge and jury over what God said, and that can’t work. Picking and choosing what you believe is called heresy.
If you know you are not supposed to drink you do not need me to tell you that; if you want to drink, you do not need Jesus telling you it is OK. And in any event, you do not need to stop drinking to get to heaven.
Salvation is about believing that Jesus died for your sins, not you stopping drinking and then getting yourself saved because you did. Many churches believe that drinking is a sin, but no matter what you believe, you are not saved by doctrine. And you are not saved by what you do or not do.
The old gospel tune, Trust and Obey, is still the path of life. If God told you not to drink, then that is your command. And He expects obedience. And think how easy that is. He hasn’t asked you to come up with $10,000 dollars?
The decision, to drink or not, is yours. But the results are also yours. Be wise, be cautious. Life is more than food and drink. Jesus said that too.
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2 Responses
Cornelia, as a child from the curses of addictions, I studied that issue in my graduate studies after the degrees in Psychology and Social Work. I learned that an addicted human body has gone through some drastic changes that are permanent. For example, if the person has gone into such abuse, the brain is damaged, and the dna of the person is damaged (ex: fetal alcohol syndrome, and other issues.) So the result would be if the person indulges at all, there would be an insatible thirst for the substance.
A Cherokee physician told me that Western Indians lack a certain enzyme for the digestion of alcoholic substances which leads to the inability of the individual to assimiliate the substance and not overindulge. Please understand that the Dr. is himself Cherokee. That is the truth which I was taught in the courses for certification in substance abuse counselling. We have had much tragedy in this matter, and I hungered to understand what happened, I know, now. When my parents were converted, they ‘fell off the wagon, once, but were delivered, and Baptised in the H.S. No further issues from them during their lives.
Lindajm
PS Couldn’t answer on your Blogg. What is URL?
Everything you said about alcohol addiction is true, but this blog is not about what Man says but about what God says. He says drinking wine is fine. He also did not say drinking wine was required. The purpose of salvation is to bring individuals into relationship where all their decisions are made by God and not by man. If a person does not believe he (or she) has that kind of walk then obeying the strictures of church or doctors is perfectly acceptable, in fact it is preferred, The one constant in the Kingdom of God is this – free will.